Men, power tools and the stupid things we do with them.

VINMAN · 09:16 PM

My radial arm saw is probably one the most heavily used tools I own. Been using it for 20 something uneventful yrs. Tonight I was cutting some stock. After I finished i lowered the blade to make a different cut. I had multiple pieces to make the same cut.
Why I did this I'll never know. As I was putting the wood up against the fence, I hit the power switch which is on the arm. The blade which i had lowered to far ( and not checked) was against the table. It spun up, shot forward towards me and just skinned my wrist. a 1/4 inch over, and it might have taken my hand off!
In all my years I have never, ever turned it on without having my hand on the slide assembly. Real dumb azz move! Scared the crap out of me!

slodave · slodave's Garage

How about this one

Only way to get the routes I needed in the control cavity of my LP... The "Min" is for the factory recommended minimum insertion - to be safe.

look 171 · 03-12-2011, 09:26 PM

Vin,

How did the blade come off. the shaft turned the nut off and the blade went flying?

look 171 · 03-12-2011, 09:28 PM

Dave, that should be all right if you are not taking too big a cut. I have done that many times. Why not just a longer bit?

VINMAN · 03-12-2011, 09:30 PM

It didnt come off. The whole slide assembly moved. The blade was down, touching the table.

slodave · slodave's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by look 171

Dave, that should be all right if you are not taking too big a cut. I have done that many times. Why not just a longer bit?

2.5" cutting length was the longest we could find without going custom. Longest cut at one time was at max cutting length, plus the extra length. It really isn't the smartest thing to do.

You could feel the change in vibrations with the router.

EDIT: That bit was damaged towards the tip early on in the project from the brass collar that's on the base plate. That made it really out of balance at full length.

gt350mike · 03-12-2011, 10:05 PM

If you want to consider a vacuum cleaner a power tool, I heard of a guy that was using it to clean-up around a gas tank and you can figure out the rest.....it sucked the fumes from around the tank and exploded.

A good friend of mine owns a fire restoration shop and he told me of a story where a guy was using a buffer on his garage floor and was using gas to remove the stubborn stains.......luckily for him the fire damage was isolated to the garage with minimal smoke/water damage to the house.

sc_rufctr · 03-12-2011, 10:14 PM

slodave · slodave's Garage

That's an achievement!

sc_rufctr · 03-12-2011, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slodave

That's an achievement!

ROFLOL... It is isn't it!

URY914 · 03-13-2011, 04:14 AM

Safety and accidents is why they don't make radial arms saws anymore. Only make table saws where the blade doesn't move.

Oh Haha · 03-13-2011, 04:22 AM

I expected this to be a "VASH" thread.

While drilling a hole for something, I got smacked in the face when the bit stuck and I wasn't paying attention. The drill kept going around and my face was in the way.

Luckily, no one saw it.

Crowbob · 03-13-2011, 04:33 AM

My question is how many times did it hit before you moved the obstruction? I was cutting an overhead limb off a tree and had plenty of time to tell my self, "This is gonna really hurt." And it did.

Oh Haha · 03-13-2011, 04:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crowbob

My question is how many times did it hit before you moved the obstruction? I was cutting an overhead limb off a tree and had plenty of time to tell my self, "This is gonna really hurt." And it did.

Just once but that was enough.

ben parrish · 03-13-2011, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by URY914

Safety and accidents is why they don't make radial arms saws anymore. Only make table saws where the blade doesn't move.

Huh? They still make them.

drew1 · 03-13-2011, 05:00 AM

ffrctr,

Done that, too. I was lucky & using a ground fault extension cord.

Red88Carrera · 03-13-2011, 05:23 AM

I've got way too many to list.
I was using a cordless drill with a 1/4" bit to drill a hole in my firewall. I decided to elongate the hole by pulling up on the drill. Well, the bit broke about 1/2 way down and the broken bit, still in the drill, still spinning, whacked me right in the side of the face. That one took a while to stop bleeding.

As for the radial arm saws... This has been around for many years now. I sent mine to them.
Radial Arm Saw Recall

fastfredracing · 03-13-2011, 07:04 AM

I have cut firewood with a circular saw. I still have all 10 fingers too!

J P Stein · 03-13-2011, 07:48 AM

I've been working wood for more than 40 years....both as a pro and as a hobby.
When I first came into the trade most of the oldtimers were missing a digit or 2.....but some weren't.....that makes an impression on a young fella.

IMO, you have to be just a little afraid of these tools and not get into the "familiarity breeds contempt" mode. You take one look at a radial arm saw or a shaper (a big router) and say to your self: "that thing could eat me up", but in fact, they all can.

I've had more close calls on a drill press & table saw than any others....maybe because they don't scare me enough. The discipline to think "what can possibly go wrong" is a digit saver.....yes, I'm now an "old timer" and I have all mine, albeit with some scars.

A certain amount of luck is involved.

onewhippedpuppy · 03-13-2011, 08:12 AM

It only takes once, that's why my carpenter father in law is missing two fingers. He was cutting a piece of siding with a chop saw and was distracted by his customer asking him a question, ouch.